Review of The King of Comedy (1982) by Bill M — 08 Jan 2014

An overlooked Scorsese film which seems more vital now than ever in today's celebrity, fame and status obsessed culture, Robert De Niro is fantastic as the pitiful and very sad Rupert Pupkin, a deluded and pretty much insane man who luxuriates in his own fantasy, and believes himself to be the next big stand up comedian, he wants fame so bad that he kidnaps his idol Jerry Langford (played by Jerry Lewis) and as a ransom gets himself put on national television for his big shot.

It canb sometimes be a frustrating film, whats demented fantasy and whats actually happening becomes ever more blurred to the point of distraction, you sometimes dont quite know what to invest in, because your not sure weather much is in Pupkins head, this is of course deliberate ambiguity that would improve on repeat views.

Overall a brilliantly dark, tragic sort of comedy, and a true original.